Methods, devices and systems for increasing wireless communication range

ABSTRACT

A device for supporting wireless communication is provided. The device includes a transceiver, an antenna, and a radio frequency (RF) front end system communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the antenna. The RF front end system may include: a RF sampling block coupled to the transceiver and configured to sample signals received from the transceiver and output voltage signals; a RF switching logic coupled to the RF sampling block to receive the voltage signals and configured to switch the front end RF system between a transmitting mode and a receiving mode; a RF transmission gain block coupled to the RF switching logic and configured to increase a transmission power of the signals received from the transceiver; and a RF receiving gain block coupled to the RF switching logic and configured to remove noise signals contained in radio frequency signals received from the antenna.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/639,711, filed on Mar. 5, 2015. U.S. application Ser. No.14/639,711 is based on and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/110,250, filed Jan. 30, 2015, entitled “METHODS,DEVICES AND SYSTEMS FOR INCREASING WIRELESS COMMUNICATION RANGE,” andU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/110,262, filed Jan. 30, 2015,entitled “BLUETOOTH TRANSPARENT RELAY.” The entire contents of the abovereferenced applications are all incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to a field of wireless communicationand, more particularly, to methods, devices, and systems for increasingwireless communication range.

BACKGROUND

Bluetooth devices such as Bluetooth speakers, smart phones, smart locks,and various smart Bluetooth sensors and wearable devices, have becomewidely used in many applications. As Bluetooth technology is designedfor low power and low cost operation, the communication range ofBluetooth devices is typically quite short. For example, the typicalcommunication range between two Bluetooth devices, such as a smart phoneand a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) sensor, is limited to tens of meters inopen space and a few meters inside a house, and the Bluetoothtransmission typically cannot penetrate walls. The short communicationrange limits the use of Bluetooth devices in scenarios where longercommunication range is required.

Conventional schemes to increase wireless communication range typicallyinvolve increasing the transmission power or antenna gain on both sidesof the radio frequency transmission. However, for Bluetooth devices,especially the BLE sensors and wearable devices, increasing thetransmission power or antenna gain of the devices is often impracticaland would defeat the design goal of low power and low cost Bluetoothdevices. Thus, it is desired to extend the communication range ofBluetooth devices without having to increase the transmission power orproduction cost of the Bluetooth devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate several embodiments and, together with thedescription, serve to explain the disclosed principles.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system environment for implementingmethods and systems consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a transmission path ofa Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a receiving path of aBluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for configuring an antennasystem of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary table of received signal strengthindicators (RSSIs) for selecting an antenna configuration, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an antenna system of aBluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wirelesscommunication hub capable of supporting multiple communicationprotocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wirelesscommunication hub capable of supporting multiple communicationprotocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a frequency hopping schemeemployed by a wireless communication hub capable of supporting multiplecommunication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears.Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers are used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts. While examples and featuresof disclosed principles are described herein, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. Also, the words“comprising,” “having,” “containing,” and “including,” and other similarforms are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in thatan item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be anexhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to onlythe listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein andin the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” includeplural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It isintended that the following detailed description be considered asexemplary only, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims.

The illustrated components and steps are set out to explain theexemplary embodiments shown, and it should be anticipated that ongoingtechnological development will change the manner in which particularfunctions are performed. These examples are presented herein forpurposes of illustration, and not limitation. Further, the boundaries ofthe functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein forthe convenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can bedefined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof areappropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents,extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein)will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on theteachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope andspirit of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system environment 100 for implementingmethods and systems consistent with the present disclosure. The systemenvironment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a hub 120 and client devices110, 125, 130, 135, and 145. In some embodiments, the system environment100 may also include a network 140 that allows the client devices toremotely communicate with the hub 120. As shown in FIG. 1, the clientdevices are connected to the hub 120 through wireless communicationlinks. For example, the client devices may be Bluetooth devices orBluetooth sensors that communicate to the hub 120 using Bluetoothcommunication protocol. The client devices may also communicate to thehub 120 using other wireless communication protocol, e.g., ZigBee, WiFi,etc. When wireless communications are to be established between theclient devices, the hub 120 may receive radio signal from one clientdevice (e.g., client device 110), process the received signal, and sendcorresponding radio signal to the other client device (e.g., clientdevice 125), such that client devices may communicate with each otherthrough the hub 120. In some embodiments, the hub 120 may amplify thereceived signal and/or suppress noise in the received signal from theclient devices such that communication range between client devices canbe effectively increased.

In some embodiments, the client devices may be Bluetooth devices orsensors (or other wireless devices such as WIFI devices, Zigbee devices,etc.), and the hub 120 may be used to increase the communication rangebetween the client devices. Bluetooth devices operate in one of twomodes: as a master device or a slave device. The master device providesa network clock and determines the frequency hopping sequence, and theslave devices synchronize to the master's clock and follow the master'shopping frequency. Each of the client devices shown in FIG. 1 may be amaster device or slave device. For example, the client device 110 may bea master device and client devices 125, 130, and 135 may be slavedevices. As an example, Bluetooth master device may be a cellular phone,a tablet, a computer, a laptop, a smart watch, a TV, or other Bluetoothdevices with screens and operating systems. Bluetooth slave devices maybe speakers, headsets, microphones, printers, smart watches, cameras,TVs, monitors, wearable devices including wristbands, pedometers,activity trackers, sleep trackers, weight scales, etc., or devices towhich Bluetooth sensors are attached to sense and send relevant electricparameters, such as home appliance including washing machines, vacuumcleaners, refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, etc.

In some embodiments, the client devices may communicate with the hub 120through a network 140. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the clientdevice 145 may remotely communicate with the hub 120 and/or other clientdevices via the network 140. The network 140 may be any type of networkthat provides communications, exchanges information, and/or facilitatesthe exchange of information between the hub 120 and client devices. Inone embodiment, the network 140 may be the Internet, a Local AreaNetwork, a cellular communication network, a wireless local areanetwork, or other suitable connections that allow the client devices tosend and receive information to/from the hub 120. In some embodiments,the hub 120 may be included in a remote cloud-based network system thatcan be accessed by the client devices through the network 140.

The present disclosure provides a wireless hub that can be used toeffectively increase the wireless communication range between the clientdevices. The wireless hub may support long range transmission withoutrequiring modification of the wireless client devices. The wireless hubmay function as a transparent relay that the client devices may notnecessary be aware of. In some embodiments, the wireless hub may be aBluetooth hub and support all the public profiles of Bluetooth. It isalso possible to control the wireless hub through a cloud server, forexample, by using a smart phone application. Furthermore, the wirelesshub may be configured to connect to a cloud server and capable ofadaptively reconfigure itself based on the use history, interaction,and/or activities of the client devices and the wireless hub. It shouldbe noted that the hub 120 may also be called as a router, and in thisdisclosure, the terms of hub and router are inter-exchangeable.

In the following description, Bluetooth protocols and devices are usedto illustrate the design of the wireless hub. It should be understood,however, that similar constructions of the wireless hub can be appliedto scenarios where other wireless communication protocols are usedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub 200, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 2, the Bluetooth hub 200 may include a Bluetooth transceiver 210, aRF front end system 220, and an antenna 240. The Bluetooth transceiver210 may be configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth signals to/fromBluetooth devices. The Bluetooth transceiver 210 may include digital,analog, and radio frequency (RF) functions for generating, receiving,and encoding/decoding Bluetooth signals. The antenna 240 may convert RFBluetooth signals to electromagnetic waves, and vice versa. The antenna240 may include a reconfigurable antenna system or directional antennasystem described later in connection with FIG. 5 and FIG. 8,respectively. The Bluetooth hub 200 may also include other components,such as a processor coupled to the Bluetooth transceiver 210. TheBluetooth hub 200 may further includes means to connect to the Internet,for example, an Ethernet port or a WIFI module. The Bluetooth hub 200may also be connected to the Internet via the Bluetooth transceiver 200.

The RF front end system 220 is communicatively coupled to the Bluetoothtransceiver 210 and the antenna 240. The RF front end system 220 mayimprove RF performance of the Bluetooth transceiver 210 by increasingits receiving sensitivity and transmission power. The RF front endsystem 220 may include a RF sampling block 222, a RF switching logic224, one or more RF switching blocks (e.g., 225 and 226), RFtransmission gain block 228, and one or more RF receiving gain blocks(e.g., 229 and 230).

The RF sampling block 222 is coupled to the Bluetooth transceiver 210and samples the RF signal received from the Bluetooth transceiver 210.For example, a small portion of the RF signal (e.g., less than 1%)outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 may be passed to the RFsampling block 222, and the remaining portion of the RF signal outputtedfrom the Bluetooth transceiver 210 may be passed to the RF switchingblock 225 for transmitting to the antenna 240. In other words, the RFsampling block 222 samples the RF signal outputted from the Bluetoothtransceiver 210 at a rate substantially lower than that of the RFsignals flowing to the antenna 240. The RF sampling block 222 convertsthe sampled RF signal into voltage signal and outputs the voltage signalto the RF switching logic 224. In some embodiments, the RF samplingblock 222 may include a low pass filter that filters the voltage signalbefore sending it to the RF switching logic 224. The filtered voltagesignal may also be converted into logarithmic signals for passing to theRF switching logic 224.

The RF switching logic 224 is coupled to the RF sampling block 222 toreceive the voltage signals and switches the RF front end system 220between a transmitting mode and a receiving mode. For example, the RFswitching logic 224 may send control signals to the RF switching blocks225 and 226 to switch the RF front end system 220 between thetransmitting mode and the receiving mode based on the voltage signalsreceived from the RF sampling block 222. The control signals may be sentfrom the RF switching logic 224 to the RF switching blocks 225 and 226within hundreds of nanoseconds. In some embodiments, the RF switchinglogic 224 may compare the received voltage signal to a predeterminedthreshold, and if the voltage signal is greater than the predeterminedthreshold, switch the RF front end system 220 to the transmitting mode.

The RF transmission gain block 228 is configured to increase signalpower of the RF signal received from the Bluetooth transceiver 210. TheRF transmission gain block 228 may be enabled or disabled by the RFswitching logic 224. For example, the RF switching logic 224 may beconnected with the RF transmission gain block 228 and may send controlsignal to the RF transmission gain block 228 to enable or disable the RFtransmission gain block 228. In some embodiments, the RF transmissiongain block 228 may include a ceramic filter and step RF attenuator toshape the RF signal received from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 beforeamplifying the RF signal.

The RF receiving gain blocks 229 and 230 are configured to suppress thenoise figure of the receiving chain. The RF receiving gain blocks 229and 230 may be enabled or disabled by the RF switching logic 224. Forexample, the RF switching logic 224 may be connected with the RFreceiving gain blocks 229 and 230 and may send control signals to the RFreceiving gain blocks to enable or disable the RF receiving gain blocks229 and 230. As illustrated in the Friis formula, the total noise factorof a cascade of stages is given as:

$F_{total} = {F_{1} + \frac{F_{2} - 1}{G_{1}} + \frac{F_{3} - 1}{G_{1}G_{2}} + \frac{F_{4} - 1}{G_{1}G_{2}G_{3}} + \ldots + \frac{F_{n} - 1}{G_{1}G_{2}\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu} G_{n - 1}}}$where F_(i) and G_(i) are the noise factor and available power gain,respectively, of the i-th stage, and n is the number of stages. It canbe seen that the overall noise figure of RF receiver is primarilyestablished by the noise figure of its first gain stage. Consequently, acascade of RF receiving gain blocks, such as the RF receiving gainblocks 229 and 230, may be used to further lower the noise figure of theRF front end system 220. Although two RF receiving gain blocks 229 and230 are used in FIG. 2, it is also possible to use more or less numberof RF receiving gain blocks in the RF front end system 220.

As shown in FIG. 2, the RF front end system 220 includes two RFswitching blocks 225 and 226. The RF switching blocks are controlled bythe control signal from the RF switching logic 224. The two RF switchingblocks 225 and 226 each may be a single pole double throw (SPDT) switchwhich decides the path of the RF signal. If the RF switching blocksswitch to the transmission path, the RF signal flows through the RFtransmission gain block 228 and feeds into the antenna 240. If the RFswitching blocks switch to the receiving path, the RF signal flows fromthe antenna through the RF receiving gain blocks and feeds into theBluetooth transceiver 210. Although two RF switching blocks 225 and 226are used in FIG. 2, it is also possible to use more or less number of RFswitching blocks 225 and 226 in the RF front end system 220 to switchthe path of the RF signal. Additionally, higher numbers of RF switchingblocks may be used for implementing a more complicated architecture,such as a SP3T, SP4T or SPNT switching block.

A person having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that theabove described Bluetooth hub 200 can be modified to apply to scenarioswhere other wireless communication protocols are used. For example, theBluetooth transceiver 210 in FIG. 2 may be replaced by a transceivercapable of transmit and receive signals of other wireless communicationprotocols, such as WIFI, and the resulting hub 200 would be capable ofsupporting communications between devices using other wirelesscommunication protocols. It should be noted that the Bluetooth hub 200may also be called as a Bluetooth router, and in this disclosure, theterms of Bluetooth hub and Bluetooth router are inter-exchangeable.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a transmission (TX)path 300 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, during transmission of Bluetoothsignals, the Bluetooth transceiver 210 sends RF signal to the RF frontend system 220. A small portion of the RF signal outputted from theBluetooth transceiver 210 is fed into the RF sampling block 222, and theremaining portion of the RF signal is fed into the RF switching block225. For example, the RF sampling block 222 may take approximately 1% ofthe RF energy outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and convertthe sampled RF signal into voltage signal. The RF sampling block 222passes the voltage signal into the RF switching logic 224 forcontrolling the operation mode the RF front end system 220. In someembodiments, the RF switching logic 224 may compare voltage of thereceived voltage signal to a predetermined threshold, and if the voltageis greater than the predetermined threshold, the RF switching logic 224may switch the RF front end system 220 to the transmitting mode. In thetransmitting mode, the RF switching logic 224 sends control signal to RFswitching blocks 225 and 226 to switch the RF signal to the transmissionpath and sends transmission enabling logic to the RF transmission gainblock 228. The transmission enabling logic enables the RF transmissiongain block 228 to perform the signal amplifying functionalities on theRF signal. The RF switching logic 224 may also send receiving disablinglogic to RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230). The receivingdisabling logic disables the RF receiving gain blocks to perform anynoise suppression functionalities since no RF signal is passed to the RFreceiving gain blocks when the RF front-end system 220 is in thetransmitting mode. The RF signal outputted from the Bluetoothtransceiver 210 is passed to the RF transmission gain block 228 and thenfed to the antenna.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a receiving (RX) path400 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. For example, the RF switching logic 224 may compare voltageof the voltage signal received from the RF sampling block 222 to apredetermined threshold, and if the voltage is lower than thepredetermined threshold, the RF switching logic 224 may switch the RFfront end system 220 to the receiving mode. In the receiving mode, theBluetooth transceiver 210 stops transmitting RF energy into the RF frontend system 220, and the RF switching logic 224 switches the RF signal tothe receiving path. The RF signal received from the antenna is fed intothe RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230) and inputted into theBluetooth transceiver 210. The received signal may bypass the RFsampling block 222.

As shown in FIG. 4, during receiving of Bluetooth signal, the RFswitching logic 224 sends control signal to RF switching blocks 225 and226 to switch the RF signal to the receiving path and sends receivingenabling logic to the RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230). Thereceiving enabling logic enables the RF receiving gain block 230 toperform noise suppression functionalities on the RF signal received fromthe antenna. The RF switching logic 224 may also send transmissiondisabling logic to RF transmission gain block 228. The transmissiondisabling logic disables the RF transmission gain block 228 to performany signal amplifying functionalities since no RF signal is passed tothe RF transmission gain block 228 when the RF front-end system 220operates in the receiving mode. The RF signal outputted from the antennais passed to the RF transmission receiving gain block 230 and then fedinto the Bluetooth transceiver 210 for decoding of the Bluetooth signal.The Bluetooth transceiver 210 stops transmitting RF energy to the RFfront end system 220 when the front-end RF system 200 operates in thereceiving mode. Thus, the RF sampling block 222 does not receive the RFsignal from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 or provide any output to theRF switching logic 224 when the RF front-end system 220 operates in thereceiving mode. The receiving path of the Bluetooth hub bypasses the RFsampling block 222 and the RF transmission gain block 228 when the RFfront-end system 220 operates in the receiving mode.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub 500, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 5, the Bluetooth hub 500 includes a Bluetooth transceiver 210, a RFfront end system 220, an antenna logic system 510, and a reconfigurableantenna system 520. The Bluetooth transceiver 210 and RF front endsystem 220 have been described above in connection with FIGS. 2-4.

The reconfigurable antenna system 520 may include a plurality of antennaelements, and each of the antenna elements may be turned on or offindependently. Thus, a unique antenna radiation pattern may be formed byturning on or off each of the antenna elements. In other words,different antenna configurations may be produced by turning on or offeach of the antenna elements. The reconfigurable antenna system 520 maybe configured by the antenna logic system 510 with a specific antennaconfiguration of the antenna elements.

The antenna logic system 510 includes a feedback logic input portconnected to the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and a control logic outputport connected to the reconfigurable antenna system 520. In someembodiments, during an initialization stage, the reconfigurable antennasystem 520 may scan through each of the antenna configurations. TheBluetooth transceiver 210 (or a processor associated with the Bluetoothtransceiver 210) may generate a received signal strength indicator(RSSI) for each of the antenna configurations based on signals receivedfrom Bluetooth client devices. The antenna logic system 510 may receivefeedback from the Bluetooth transceiver 210, including the RSSI of eachof the antenna configurations for each client device.

For each of the Bluetooth client devices, the antenna logic system 510may select a preferred antenna configuration based on the RSSIs andconfigure the reconfigurable antenna system 520 with the preferredantenna configuration for the corresponding client device. For example,the antenna logic system 510 may select an antenna configurationcorresponding to the highest RSSI among all the antenna configurations.In some embodiments, the antenna logic system 510 may take into accountboth the RSSI and the prior selected antenna configuration in decidingwhich antenna configuration to select for the client device. In someembodiments, the antenna logic system 510 may take into account theRSSI, the bit error rate (BER), the packet error rate (PER), and/or thenoise floor of the communication path in deciding which antennaconfiguration to select for the client device. By selecting the antennaconfiguration based on the feedback provided by the Bluetoothtransceiver 210, the reconfigurable antenna system 520 may achievehigher antenna gain and receive less noise, thereby increasing thecommunication range of the Bluetooth client devices.

A person having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that theabove described Bluetooth hub 500 can be modified to apply to scenarioswhere other wireless communication protocols are used. For example, theBluetooth transceiver 210 in FIG. 5 may be replaced by a transceivercapable of transmit and receive signals of other wireless communicationprotocols, and the resulting hub 500 would be capable of supportingcommunications between devices using other wireless communicationprotocols. Certain functional blocks may be omitted in the Bluetooth hub500 without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure. For example, in some implementations, the RF front endsystem 200 may be omitted in the Bluetooth hub 500, and the RF energymay flow directly from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 to thereconfigurable antenna system 520.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 for configuring anantenna system of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The method 600 may be performed by the Bluetoothhub 500 described above in connection with FIG. 5.

At step 602, the Bluetooth hub scans through the different antennaconfigurations and generates a corresponding RSSI for each of theantenna configurations. For example, during an initialization stage, thereconfigurable antenna system 520 may scan through the antennaconfigurations, and the Bluetooth transceiver 210 (or a processorassociated with the Bluetooth transceiver 210) may generate the RSSIcorresponding to each of the antenna configurations. If there is aplurality of Bluetooth client devices in the system, the Bluetooth hubmay generate a set of RSSIs for each of the client devices. TheBluetooth transceiver 210 (or a processor associated with the Bluetoothtransceiver 210) may feedback the RSSIs to the antenna logic system 510for selection of the antenna configuration. In some embodiments, aprocessor of the Bluetooth hub may select an antenna configuration basedon the RSSIs and feedback the selected antenna configuration to theantenna logic system 510.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary table 700 of RSSIs for selecting anantenna configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The table 700 illustrates the sets of RSSIs collected by theBluetooth hub during the initialization stage. As shown in FIG. 7, foreach of the N antenna configurations, the table 700 includes RSSIs for aplurality of Bluetooth client devices, i.e., client A to client X. Asthe client devices may move around and the RF environment may bechanging, the table 700 may be updated periodically to reflect thecurrent RF condition of the Bluetooth client devices.

Referring back to FIG. 6, at step 604, the Bluetooth hub selects anantenna configuration for the client devices based on RSSIs. For eachclient device, a same or different antenna configuration may beselected. For example, the Bluetooth hub may select the antennaconfiguration with the highest RSSI among all the antenna configurationsfor each client device. For another example, the Bluetooth hub mayselect the prior antenna configuration if the RSSI corresponding to theprior antenna configuration remains above a predetermined value. If theRSSI corresponding to the prior antenna configuration falls below apredetermined value, the corresponding antenna configuration with thehighest RSSI among all the antenna configurations may be selected. It isalso possible that other types of signal strength indicator may be usedin place of the RSSI for selecting the preferred antenna configuration.

At step 606, the Bluetooth hub configures the reconfigurable antennasystem 520 with the selected antenna configuration, and the selectedantenna configuration is used to communicate with the correspondingBluetooth client device. For example, the antenna logic system 510 mayconfigure the reconfigurable antenna system 520 with the selectedantenna configuration via the control logic output port. The selectedantenna configuration may be used to communicate with the correspondingBluetooth client device within a timeout, that is, a predetermined timeperiod. After the timeout, the method 600 may return to step 602 to scanthrough the antenna configurations and obtain updated RSSIs for each ofthe antenna configurations. In some embodiments, the timeout may be setto a value less than one second, for example, 300 ms. The antenna logicsystem 510 may update the selected antenna configuration based on theupdated RSSIs. Thus, a selected antenna configuration is used tocommunicate with a client device for a predetermined time period, andthe selected antenna configuration is updated after the predeterminedtime period to reflect the current RF channel conditions. By selectingthe antenna configuration based on the RSSI and update the selectedantenna configuration periodically, the method 600 achieves higherantenna gain and lower noise, and as a result, increases thecommunication range of the client devices.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub 800, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 8, the Bluetooth hub 800 includes a Bluetooth transceiver 210, a RFfront end system 220, a RF energy splitter 810, and a plurality ofantenna elements 820-1 to 820-N. The Bluetooth transceiver 210 and RFfront end system 220 have been described above in connection with FIGS.2-4.

The RF energy splitter 810 is coupled with the RF front end system 220,and the RF energy flows from the RF front end system 220 to the RFenergy splitter 810. The RF energy splitter 810 is configured to dividethe RF energy, for example, equally, into N parts and feed the split RFenergy into each of the N directional antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N.Each of the directional antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N may beconfigured to radiate in a different direction, and the combination ofall the antenna elements may cover the entire area of the network. Forexample, each of the directional antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N may beconfigured to radiate in a direction towards 1/N part of the area. Indoing so, higher antenna gain may be achieved for the Bluetooth hub incomparison with those using omni-directional antennas.

In some embodiments, the Bluetooth hub may determine, for a particularBluetooth device, which directional antenna element receives thestrongest signal from that Bluetooth device. The Bluetooth hub maydetermine that the Bluetooth device falls in an area covered by thatdirectional antenna element, and use that directional antenna element totransmit RF signals for the Bluetooth device. For example, the Bluetoothhub may feed all of the RF energy for the Bluetooth device to thatdirectional antenna element, instead of equally dividing the RF energyto all the antenna elements.

A person having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that theabove described Bluetooth hub 800 can be modified to apply to scenarioswhere other wireless communication protocols are used. For example, theBluetooth transceiver 210 in FIG. 8 may be replaced by a transceivercapable of transmit and receive signals of other wireless communicationprotocols, and the resulting hub 800 would be capable of supportingcommunications between devices using other wireless communicationprotocols. Certain functional blocks may be omitted in the Bluetooth hub900 without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure. For example, in some implementations, the RF front endsystem 200 may be omitted in the Bluetooth hub 800, and the RF energymay flow directly from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 to the RF energysplitter 810.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wirelesscommunication hub 900 capable of supporting multiple communicationprotocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.As shown in FIG. 9, the wireless communication hub 900 includes aprinted circuit board (PCB) 910, a Bluetooth module 920, and a WIFImodule 930 for supporting both Bluetooth and WIFI communications.

Since both the WIFI devices and Bluetooth devices operate at theindustrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands, there may existinternal interferences between the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFImodule 930 within the wireless communication hub 900. To minimize theinterference between the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930,the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be placed apart onthe PCB 910, for example, at opposite ends of the PCB 910. As shown inFIG. 9, the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be alsoplaced at opposite sides of the PCB 910. In some embodiments, thephysical distance between the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module930 may be configured to be greater than a predetermined distance toensure isolation between them.

It should be understood that although a WIFI module and a Bluetoothmodule are included in FIG. 9, similar arrangement can be applied towireless communication hubs supporting other communication protocols.For example, in some implementations, the wireless communication hub mayinclude a Bluetooth module and a Zigbee module, and the Bluetooth moduleand Zigbee module may be placed apart on the PCB, for example, at anopposite end of the PCB, to reduce interference to each other. Asanother example, the wireless communication hub may include a Bluetoothmodule, a WIFI module, and a Zigbee module, and the three modules may beplaced apart on the PCB with a minimum physical distance between oneanother to reduce interference to one another.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wirelesscommunication hub 1000 capable of supporting multiple communicationprotocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.As shown in FIG. 10, the wireless communication hub 1000 includes aprinted circuit board (PCB) 910, a Bluetooth module 920, a Bluetoothantenna 1010, a WIFI module 930, and a WIFI antenna 1020 for supportingboth Bluetooth and WIFI communications.

Since both the WIFI devices and Bluetooth devices operate at the ISMradio bands, to minimize the interference between the Bluetooth module920 and the WIFI module 930, the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFImodule 930 may be placed apart on the PCB 910, for example, by having aphysical distance greater than a predetermined minimum distance.

In some embodiments, interference between the communication modules maybe reduced by using different antenna polarizations and PCB RF pathsbetween each communication modules. As shown in FIG. 10, the Bluetoothantenna 1010 is configured to have a horizontal polarization, and theWIFI antenna 1020 is configured to have a vertical polarization.Additionally, the PCB RF path to the Bluetooth antenna 1010 is in avertical direction, and the PCB RF path to the WIFI antenna 1020 is in ahorizontal direction. Reduced interference between the Bluetooth module920 and the WIFI module 930 may be achieved by the differentpolarizations of the Bluetooth antenna and WIFI antenna and thedifferent directions of PCB RF paths between the Bluetooth module andthe WIFI module.

In some embodiments, interference between the communication modules maybe reduced by using time-domain isolation. For example, a processor(e.g., a CPU) of the wireless communication hub may function as acommunication controller and execute a timing algorithm to determine thetime slots for each of the communication module to transmit and/orreceive data. When the WIFI module is transmitting and/or receivingdata, the processor may send control signal to the Bluetooth module suchthat the Bluetooth module refrains from transmission at the same timewhen the WIFI module is transmitting and/or receiving data. Similarly,when the Bluetooth module is transmitting and/or receiving data, theprocessor may send control signal to the WIFI module such that the WIFImodule refrains from transmission at the same time when the Bluetoothmodule is transmitting and/or receiving data.

It should be understood that although a WIFI module and a Bluetoothmodule are included in FIG. 10, similar arrangement can be applied towireless communication hubs supporting other communication protocols.For example, in some implementations, the wireless communication hub mayinclude a Bluetooth module and a Zigbee module, and the Bluetoothantenna and Zigbee antenna may be configured to have differentpolarizations. As another example, the Bluetooth module and Zigbeemodule may be configured to transmit and/or receive at different timeslots to avoid interference to each other.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a frequency hopping scheme1100 employed by a wireless communication hub capable of supportingmultiple communication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Frequency-domain isolation may be achieved byimplementing a master frequency hopping algorithm by a processor (e.g.,a CPU) of the wireless communication hub. For example, the processor ofthe wireless communication hub may perform a background scanning of theentire bandwidth of the WIFI channel and the Bluetooth channel to selectfrequency channel of the WIFI communication and Bluetooth communicationat the next hopping cycle.

As shown in FIG. 11, at the first frequency hopping cycle, the WIFIcommunication is scheduled at channel A, and the Bluetooth communicationis scheduled at frequency channel set 1, i.e., channels 1-17. By usingdifferent frequency channels, the interference between the WIFIcommunication and the Bluetooth communication is minimized. Thescheduled frequency channels for the WIFI communication and theBluetooth communication are used in one frequency hopping cycle for apredetermined time period. During one frequency hopping cycle, thescheduled frequency channels for the WIFI communication and theBluetooth communication remain unchanged.

At the next hopping cycle, different frequency channels for the WIFIcommunication and the Bluetooth communication may be used. As shown inFIG. 11, at the second frequency hopping cycle, the WIFI communicationis scheduled at channel Z, and the Bluetooth communication is scheduledat frequency channel set X, i.e., channels 18-37. That is, the frequencychannels used by the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communicationmay vary from time to time, while at a given time instant, the frequencychannels used by the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communicationare not overlapping in order to minimize the interference to each other.During each of the frequency hopping cycle, the processor of thewireless communication hub may perform a background scanning of theentire bandwidth of the WIFI channel and the Bluetooth channel to selectfrequency channel of the WIFI communication and Bluetooth communicationfor the next hopping cycle or future hopping cycles. In someimplementations, since the Bluetooth communication protocol includes thefrequency hopping feature, the processor of the wireless communicationhub may determine a set of hopping frequencies for the Bluetoothcommunication, and the Bluetooth protocol stack which implements thefunctionalities of higher layers of Bluetooth protocol may determine theexact hopping channels for Bluetooth communication.

It should be understood that although WIFI communication and Bluetoothcommunication are described in connection with FIG. 11, the abovedescribed frequency hopping mechanism can be applied to other wirelesscommunication protocols without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present disclosure.

The specification has described methods, devices, and systems forincreasing wireless communication range. The illustrated steps are setout to explain the exemplary embodiments shown, and it should beanticipated that ongoing technological development will change themanner in which particular functions are performed. Thus, these examplesare presented herein for purposes of illustration, and not limitation.For example, steps or processes disclosed herein are not limited tobeing performed in the order described, but may be performed in anyorder, and some steps may be omitted, consistent with disclosedembodiments. Further, the boundaries of the functional building blockshave been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of thedescription. Alternative boundaries can be defined so long as thespecified functions and relationships thereof are appropriatelyperformed. Alternatives (including equivalents, extensions, variations,deviations, etc., of those described herein) will be apparent to personsskilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein.Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosedembodiments.

It is intended that the disclosure and examples be considered asexemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of disclosed embodimentsbeing indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for supporting wireless communicationwith a client device, comprising: a configurable antenna systemincluding a plurality of antenna elements, wherein each of the antennaelements is configured to radiate in a different direction and iscapable of being turned on or off to produce different antennaconfigurations, the antenna configurations comprising the radiatingdirection of each turned-on antenna element; a transceiver configured togenerate a plurality of sets of received signal strength indicators(RSSI), wherein each set of RSSI is generated for each of the antennaconfigurations based on signals received from a respective one of aplurality of the client devices; and an antenna logic systemcommunicatively coupled to the transceiver and the configurable antennasystem, the antenna logic system configured to, for each client device:receive, from the transceiver, the respective set of RSSI for each ofthe antenna configurations; select an antenna configuration among theantenna configurations based on the respective set of RSSI; configurethe antenna elements of the configurable antenna system with theselected antenna configuration; and use the selected antennaconfiguration to communicate with the client device within a timeoutperiod; wherein the device further comprises an energy splitter coupledto the transceiver and the configurable antenna system, the energysplitter configured to divide energy received by the transceiver into aplurality of energy parts and feed the divided energy parts to theplurality of antenna elements respectively; wherein the plurality ofantenna elements, as combined, cover all radiation directions; andwherein after the timeout period, the antenna logic system is configuredto update the RSSI for each of the antenna configurations, select anupdated antenna configuration based on the updated RSSI, and configurethe configurable antenna system with the updated antenna configuration.2. The device of claim 1, wherein the timeout period is less than onesecond.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the antenna logic systemidentifies a highest RSSI among the RSSIs for each of the antennaconfigurations, and selects the antenna configuration corresponding tohighest RSSI as the selected antenna configuration.
 4. The device ofclaim 1, further comprising a radio frequency (RF) front end systemconfigured to increase a transmission power of signals received from thetransceiver and remove noise signals contained in radio frequencysignals received from the configurable antenna system.
 5. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the transceiver is a Bluetooth transceiver and thesignals are Bluetooth signals.
 6. A method for transmitting wirelesssignals to a client device, comprising: scanning through a set ofantenna configurations, each antenna configuration comprising turning onor off each of a plurality of antenna elements and comprising theradiating direction of each turned-on antenna element, and the eachantenna element is configured to radiate in a different direction;generating a plurality of sets of received signal strength indicators(RSSI), wherein each set of RSSI is generated for each of the antennaconfigurations based on signals received from a respective one of theclient devices; and for each client device: selecting an antennaconfiguration based on the respective set of RSSIs; using the selectedantenna configuration to configure the antenna elements; communicatingwith the client device using the selected antenna configuration totransmit wireless signals within a timeout period; dividing receivedenergy into a plurality of energy parts; and feeding the divided energyparts to the plurality of antenna elements respectively; updating theRSSI for each of the antenna configurations after the timeout period;and selecting an antenna configuration based on the updated RSSI.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the timeout period is less than one second.8. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting the antenna configurationbased on the RSSIs comprises selecting the antenna configurationcorresponding to a highest RSSI.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein usingthe selected antenna configuration to transmit wireless signalscomprises using the selected antenna configuration to transmit Bluetoothsignals.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the set of antennaconfigurations are configurations of the plurality of antenna elements,each of the antenna elements being capable of being turned on or off toproduce different antenna configurations.